International Financial Institution

18 November 2010: The 39th Meeting of the Global Environmental Facility (GEF) Council approved US$134 million for the next phase of the Small Grants Programme (SGP), which awards up to US$50,000 in funds for projects by civil society and community based organizations.

The Conference "Environments of the Poor in the Context of Climate Change and the Green Economy: Making Sustainable Development Inclusive," organized by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), will address the challenge of achieving poverty reduction in the face of growing climate variability and change. It will take stock of the conceptual understandings and empirical evidence developed in recent years and analyze its impact on policy formulation and implementation in Asia and the Pacific.

17 November 2010: The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide technical support for sustainable and climate-resilient water projects in Samoa. EIB support will target the rehabilitation and upgrade of independent water schemes in Samoa under a EUR 250,000 technical assistance programme, which will also ensure community participation and improve drinking water quality and climate resilience.

8 November 2010: The African Development Bank (AfDB) launched a project designed to assist project developers in the continent in accessing carbon finance to ensure the commercial feasibility of their projects.

November 2010: The Scientific and Technical Advisory Panel (STAP) of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) published an advisory document on "Environmental Certification and the Global Environment Facility," summarizing the evidence base for eco-certification initiatives in generating global, national, regional and local environmental benefits, as well as evidence related to the socioeconomic impacts on participants.

November 2010: The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) has circulated information, including links to presentations, videos and photos, from the inaugural "Rio Conventions' Ecosystems and Climate Change Pavilion," held from 18-28 October 2010 on the margins of the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 10) to the CBD in Nagoya, Japan.

12 November 2010: The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen cooperation in projects aimed at reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in Latin America and the Caribbean.

11 November 2010: The Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) will provide US$50 million grants to the Governments of Bangladesh, Tajikistan and Niger to pilot climate resilience strategies and integrate climate risk into their economic plans.

11 November 2010: The World Bank and the UN have released a joint report titled "Natural Hazards, UnNatural Disasters: The Economics of Effective Prevention," which analyzes disasters from an economics perspective.